2014 World Cup

It was an up and down World Cup for Algeria, which ended with an all-time best finish.

Paraguay 1:1 Algeria
In our first match of group play, Abdelkader Ghezzal opened our account in the 32nd minute. The lead would not hold up though, as Nelson Valdez scored a devastating equalizer just before the half. We had the better of the run of play in the second half but could not convert and had to settle for a point.

Algeria 4:1 Serbia
Slavko Perovic hit us on a counter attack in the 32nd minute to give Serbia the lead. But this time it was us who scored a crucial goal before heading to the changing room when Rafik Halliche scored a set piece goal in stoppage time. Sofiane Hanni would net a second half hat trick to make the difference, and we had a solid four points heading into the final group match.

Croatia 3:0 Algeria
We never got on track in this game and Croatia ran us off the field. We rested some key players but it almost cost us dearly as our goal differential lead was erased and we were even with Serbia in that category. By the strength of our head to head win we did still advance however.

Romania 1:1p Algeria
The first half of our second round match against Romania was a defensive struggle, with both teams struggling to find space. Once again, Rafik Halliche got us on the board just before half time with another set piece goal. It looked like it might hold up, but Cristian Chivu equalized in the 74th. The deadlock lasted throughout all of extra time and the match would be settled on penalties. Mihai Costea missed the first spot kick for Romania and they never recovered, losing 5-4 and we were through to the quarterfinal.

Algeria 0:2 Italy
We were able to create a few chances but Italy were always the better team. Goals by Mario Balotelli (15) and Federico Macheda (58) were all the Azzuri needed and our improbable run to the quarters was over. It was definitely a valiant effort and overall a good showing for Algeria to advance to the quarterfinal. After the tournament, we ascended to the #9 world ranking, the highest Algeria had ever been.

Argentina defeated Brazil 5-4 on penalties in the final after neither team found the net in regular and extra time. France defeated Italy 1-0 to finish third place.

Following the World Cup, I resigned my post with Algeria. After being spurned by my home USA, I took a job with the Costa Rica national team and will double up with Palmeiras.

FIFA World Cup 2014 Brazil: Preview

A long hard journey is finally culminating as my Algeiran National Team is ready to begin their quest. In our final warm-up friendly we were able to defeat #7 Uruguay 1-0 on a goal by Abdelkader Ghezzal.

First let's take a look at the 23-man squad that will take the pitch in Brazil:

---Goleiros
Mickaël Fabre 29 (Clermont Foot 63)
Fawzi Chaouchi 29 (Molde)
Faouzi Belkheïr 19 (AS Saint-Etienne)

---Zaguieros
Rafik Helliche 27 (Atletico Madrid)
Anthar Yahia 32 (Atletico Madrid)
Madjid Bougherra 31 (AS Saint-Etienne)
Mohamed Benhamed 21 (Al-Ahly)

---Laterais
Fadel Sahroui 22 (Unirea Urziceni)
Nadir Belhadj 31 (FC Barcelona)
Ryad Boudebouz 24 (Hoffenheim)
Djamel Mesbah 29 (Stade Rennais FC)

---Volantes
Amine Linganzi 24 (Roma)
Nabil Kaïd 20 (Toronto FC)
Hassan Yebda 30 (Paris Saint-Germain)
Mehdi Lacen 30 (Racing)

---Meias
Sofiane Feghouli 24 (Grenoble Foot 38)
Karim Ziani 31 (Chelsea)
Kamel Ghilas 30 (Hull City)
Abdelaziz Touati 22 (Dinamo Moscow)

---Atacante
Abdelkader Ghezzal 29 (Inter Milan)
Rafik Djebbour 30 (AEK)
Idir Ouali 26 (Bochum)
Sofiane Hanni 23 (FC Nantes)

Now, a look at the opponents.

Paraguay
Venue: Albertão, Teresina (PL)
14 June 2014
FIFA Ranking: 21
---Road to Brazil
Chile 0-2
at Bolivia 4-1
Peru 1-3
at Venezuela 1-2
Uruguay 2-1
at Argentina 2-0
Colombia 1-3
Bolivia 4-0
at Ecuador 1-1
at Chile 1-3
at Peru 2-1
Venezuela 3-1
at Uruguay 1-1
Argentina 1-0
at Colombia 0-3
Ecuador 5-0
(8-2-6, 26pts, 3rd in CONMEBOL Zone)

Serbia
Venue: Vivaldão, Manaus (AM)
19 June 2014
FIFA Ranking: 10
---Road to Brazil
at Macedonia 0-0
Albania 2-0
at England 2-3
Ireland 6-1
Macedonia 1-2
England 1-0
at Albania 2-1
at Ireland 2-1
(5-1-2, 16pts, won Group 9 in UEFA Zone on goal difference)

Croatia
Venue: Maracanão, Rio de Janeiro (RJ)
24 June 2014
FIFA Ranking: 9
---Road to Brazil
Romania 1-1
Georgia 2-1
at Azerbaijan 2-0
at Lithuania 1-0
Czech Republic 2-2
at Georgia 1-1
at Romania 3-2
Lithuania 4-0
Azerbaijan 4-0
at Czech Republic
(6-4-0, 22pts, won Group 1of UEFA Zone)

And a look at the overall draw:

---Group A
Russia
New Zealand
Romania
Mexico

---Group B
Serbia
Croatia
Paraguay
Algeria

---Group C
Brazil
Holland
Ghana
Japan

---Group D
Portugal
Colombia
Italy
Bahrain

---Group E
Germany
Cameroon
Montenegro
United States

---Group F
Argentina
China
Switzerland
Morocco

---Group G
Sweden
South Korea
Nigeria
Uruguay

---Group H
Spain
Ecuador
France
Costa Rica

2014 Paulista League

Palmeiras
---Campeonato Paulista
We were able to relatively easily retain our São Paulo state championship. First, we tore through the league stage, winning all 19 matches and outscoring the opposition 55-7.

In the semifinal, we drew 1-1 at Corinthians but easily drubbed the rivals in the home leg 4-0, thanks to a Ciro hat trick.

We faced São Paulo in the final. The first leg was again away, and we were able to steal a hard fought 1-0 victory thanks to an 86th minute Ciro goal. In the home leg, Roni and Ciro each scored for a 2-1 win, sealing a 3-1 aggregate victory and giving us the trophy.

Ciro was the Top Goalscorer with 19 goals, and also won his second Best Player Award in three years. His strike partner Adílson won the Young Player of the Year award, making him the third consecutive Palmeiras player to bring win it (Ciro in 2012, Marquinhos in 2013). Sandro Silva's strike against Guaratinguetá won the Goal of the Year. The following players were named to the Team of the Year:
GK: Renan Ribeiro
DC: Marício Ramos
MC: Neymar
ST: Ciro

---Copa Santander Libertadores
The group stage provided little challenge for us, winning 5 and drawing once to win the group with a 16-2 scoring differential. Our only blemish was a scoreless draw at rival Corinthians, who we beat 3-0 in the return fixture at home.

In the second round we were drawn against Peruvian club Alianza Lima. It looked like we were going to coast after leading 2-0 in the first leg away, but Alianza got one back in the 70th to make 2-1 coming home. All drama was removed from the tie in the first half, when we scored 4 goals in the first half hour and led 4-1 at the half. That score held up and we advanced 6-2 on aggregate.

Our quarterfinal opponent will be fellow Brazilian club Vitória.

Algeria
Not much to report on just yet. We did play a friendly at Norway, an easy 4-0 victory. Rafik Halliche bagged a brace, and Rafik Djebbour and Feham Bouazza each added goals in the warmup friendly. We'll play Uruguay in a friendly days before we open World Cup play against Paraguay.

We did occupy the #10 World Ranking for a couple of months before dropping down to #11, which is where we currently sit.

African Champions Again

Algeria
Despite taking a mix of young and fringe players, we were able to once again lift the CAF Cup of Nations trophy in the 2014 edition. Here's a quick summary.

In the group stage, we played our strongest opponents first in Tunisia and Senegal. Both ended in scoreless draws so we needed a win against Burkina Faso in our final group match to advance. It wasn't easy, as the two teams traded goals but we were able to emerge 5-3 winners to win the group.

Winning the group turned out to be important as it gave us a much easier draw. In the quarterfinal, instead of playing Egypt we got DR Congo. DR Congo turned out to be a spirited opponent and we had to earn our 2-1 win.

In the semifinal, we met Ivory Coast. CIV also brought a depleted squad. After regular time couldn't settle a 1-1 scoreline, we scored goals in the 107th and 119th minute to eliminate the Elephants 3-1.

In the final, we got our nemesis Morocco. Our rivals survived a group with Ivory Coast and Nigeria, and then defeated Cameroon and Egypt to earn their way to the final. Abdelkader Ghezzal broke the gridlock in the 59th minute, and it would be all we needed to win the tournament by a 1-0 score.

It was a bit of a shallow victory given the relative lack of competition we faced compared to the 2012 victory but we're not going to give it back and it wasn't exactly easy.

Next up is friendlies against Norway and Uruguay before we open World Cup play against Paraguay.

Palmeiras
We have three cups to defend this season, the State Championship, Serié A, and the Copa Libertadores. Here's a look at the squad for 2014:

---Goleiros
Renan Ribeiro (BRA)
Santos (BRA)

---Zaguiros
Maurício Ramos (BRA) 28
Jeci (BRA) 33
Rafael (BRA) 18
Franco Rodríguez (CHI) 18
Roni (BRA) 17

---Laterais
Fágner (BRA) 24
Leandro Grimi (ARG) 29
Gabriel Silva (BRA) 29
Rafael (BRA) 17

---Volantes
Souza (BRA) 25
Sandro Silva (BRA) 29
Anselmo (BRA) 25
Fernando (BRA) 22

---Meias
Cleiton Xavier (BRA) 30
Rodrigo Dantas (BRA) 24
Gabriel Pimba (BRA) 23
Artur (BRA) 16
Marquinhos (BRA) 24

---Atacantes
Ciro (BRA) 24
Neymar (BRA) 22
Adílson (BRA) 18
Fabinho (BRA) 18
Maikon Leite (BRA) 25

As you can tell the squad has gotten a lot younger. The club is not in financial crisis but I am trying to to improve the financial situation by selling the higher salary veterans and purchasing young players with hopefully high potential for the future.

We have learned our group for the Copa Libertadores. We've been drawn in group G with Olimpia (PAR), LDU de Quito (ECU), and São Paulo state rivals Corinthians. We should be able to advance from that group with ease, even if we did drop both matches to Corinthians.

2013: Conquering the world... almost.

It was a successful year with our share of hardware to show for it, but we also had some close calls. Let's begin with how the year finished up with Algeria

Algeria
After a monumental 3rd place finish in the Confederations Cup, there was still work to be done as we worked toward finishing the job in qualifying for Brazil 2014.

After a 6-0 run out over Syria, the key stretch of qualifying began. First, at chief rivals Senegal. Karim Ziani's 58th minute goal was good enough for a 1-1 draw and a very big point on the road.

Next was a visit to Angola. Said Zitouni made a huge impression in only his second cap, netting a hat trick in the 3-1 victory. Zitouni is a big prospect up front and he spurned his home country of France to join our setup. After that performance, it will be hard to keep him out of the squad.

Finally, Senegal returned for our second match of the qualifying round. With only lowly Libya left on the schedule and a 2 point lead over Senegal in the table, a draw would likely have been good enough. Senegal jumped out ahead 1-0 in the 27th minute with a strike by Zargo Toure and looked to spoil what was an amazing cycle. But Amine Linganzi (55) and my former club player Feham Bouazza (75) each scored and we held on for the 2-1 comeback victory and clinched qualification.

After the win, it was time to begin looking for players for the 23-man World Cup squad. Despite playing a primarily inexperienced squad, it was team staples Rafik Djebbour (41, 86) and Sofiane Hanni (52) who stole the glory in a 4-0 walk over Libya in the final qualifier.

We won our qualifying group by 5 points, with 5 wins and a draw, 18 goals scored to 3 goals against. Libya actually finished third with 4 points thanks to shock 1-0 win over Angola, who pulled up the rear with only 3.

In our final match of the year, a friendly against arch-rival Morocco, Abdelkader Ghezzal (18) and Karim Ziani (25) scored to open up a 2-0 lead. It wouldn't last, however, as Morocco equalized before the half and no one scored in the second half and it ended 2-2.

Our business with Senegal isn't finished, as were drawn together in Group C of the CAF Cup of Nations in January. Our other opponents in the pool are Tunisia and Burkina Faso. After winning the ACN in 2012, we are looking to defend our title. It will also give us a chance to evaluate players in selecting the World Cup squad.

Speaking of the World Cup squad, we learned our draw. It's a pretty favorable one with all things considered. In order, our Group B opponents will be Paraguay, Serbia, and Croatia. In order to prepare, we scheduled a friendly at Norway, and fellow qualifier Uruguay a week before the tournament begins.

Palmeiras
--Campeonato Brasileiro Serié A
Very successful season in the domestic league. At times we struggled to find the net, but hit our stride and ended up with a league leading 65 goals scored and only surrendered 18, second best. We won the league with 101 points (32W-5D-1L), 26 clear of last years champion Cruzeiro.

We won several awards, starting with my Manager of the Year trophy. The others: Goalkeeper of the Year-Renan Ribeiro
Central Defender of the Year-Marício Ramos
Striker of the Year-Ciro, Best Player-Ciro
Player of the Year-Marício Ramos
Young Player of the Year-Rafael

We had 4 players in the team of the Year:
GK: Renan Ribeiro
DC: Marício Ramos
MC: Cleiton Xavier
ST: Ciro

--Club World Cup
Winning the Copa Libertadores qualified us for the FIFA Club World Cup against the winners of other continental competitions. We were drawn strait into the quarterfinals against Chivas, who won the CONCACAF Champions League. Two first half goals from Ciro was enough to overcome a late effort by the Goats, and we advanced with a 2-1 victory.

In the final we met UEFA Champions League winners Juventus. Outmatched by the Italian club in pretty much every way, we hung with them stride for stride. Gabriel Silva scored in the 18th, equalizing after an own goal by Renan Ribeiro in the 11th. The score was level for most of the match with both sides having some good chances, but Romelu Lukaku scored the eventual winner for Juve in the 71st, and we lost 2-1 in the final. Still, a spirited effort to build on for next season.

The squad will probably be pretty different next year as we make the move toward younger players. Much of the transfer budget this year was spent on signing young, 15-18 year olds for the future. It probably means we'll take a hit next year but reap the benefits beyond, if I don't get sacked.

Hall of Fame Run

Had success with both club and country. Let's start with Algeria in this post, just to change things up.

Confederations Cup
Went into this group not expecting a whole lot. We felt like we could get points off South Korea, but getting anything against the host (Brazil) and the current world champions (Russia) was unlikely. So I went in with a plan to at least get everyone on the pitch for at least one match, save for one goalkeeper. The first team would play the first and third matches (Brazil and Russia), and the second team would run out against Korea.

Against Brazil, it didn't take long for the hosts to remove the drama. Alípio would find the net in the 11th and 21st minute, but graciously waited until the 49th to complete his hat trick. Abdelkader Ghezzal would score a consolation goal in the 79th, but we crumpled to a 3-1 defeat in the first match.

Things went a little better for the second teamers against South Korea. We knocked on the door for the first 45 minutes, but we were not allowed in the net until the first minute of first half stoppage when Idir Quali used his pace to get through and open our account. Farid Derouaz added some insurance with a spot kick in the 83rd. Korea would get one back in the 90th, but we held on for all 3 points in a 2-1 win.

Like us, Russia split the first two games but they had a 1 goal lead in the differential. So we had to win to advance. Abdelkader Ghezzal would shock the Ruskies in the second minute, heading in a cross and we had a ball game. From there on Russia would pound on our defense. It was like a firing range, and our keeper was called upon often. Fawzi Chaouchi was given a 9.5 rating for his efforts between the sticks. Finally, in the 80th minute, we caught a break when Chezzal was fouled in the area and Hassan Yebda cooly slotted home the penalty for the killer goal. We completed the 2-0 win and Chaouchi etched his place in Algerian lore with a heroic effort. Playing a fresh squad against Korea helped us out as we were less fatigued for this match than Russia.

In the semifinal we met Argentina. I had to make a tough decision before this match. Continue the all out/in rotation or play a tired squad. I decided to rotate the players, except for the Chaouchi. The second team had earned a shot at this with their effort against South Korea. Also, win or lose, we were looking at either Germany or Brazil again next, so I wanted to have a fresh squad for that one as well. It looked like the strategy had paid off, as we forced extra time after 90 minutes of scoreless football. We would go into the second overtime period, and I had waited until then to make my substitutions. I got all the players I wanted in for the shootout, but sadly the dreams crashed when Sergio Agüero scored in the 111th minute. Then, that ogre Carlos Tevez unplugged our life support with a second in the 115th. A tough pill to swallow. Once again, Chaouchi put in an outstanding effort, and was indeed named man of the match. But late dramatics by a superior team diminished it and we would be reduced to the third place game.

Brazil, after having bowed out to the Germans in the other semifinal on an extra time goal themselves, sacked their manager and so I guess they were coaching themselves. There was no reason for me to believe we could reverse the result from the first match, a 3-1 Brazil victory. The only difference between now and then was that we were in better match condition. Not sure why, perhaps because of fitness, but this match was much more even than Russia and Argentina. In those, we were bombarded for the most part but in this match against Brazil we were holding our own, limiting their chances and creating some of our own. In fact, in the 47th minute, Sofiane Hanni found himself on the flank all alone with the ball, which he crossed to the far post where was in open space for the finish and a 1-0 lead. Brazil's situation went from bad to worse when Luisão was sent off in the 70th with his second yellow. Brazil, desperate to equalize, sent their keeper Julio Cesar up on a corner kick in the second minute of stoppage. They failed to convert and the ball was hoofed up to Sofiane Hanni who passed the ball into the open net and Algeria shocked Brazil and the world for third place in the Confederations Cup.

Germany defeated Argentina in the final, 2-0, and Carlos Tevez got what he deserved with a red card in the 24th. Algeria didn't win any awards, but certainly helped Alípio win the top goalscorer, as we allowed 3 of his 4 goals. The best player award went to Agüero, no doubt in part thanks to his goal against us. I don't know what kind of tournament Germany's René Adler had, but it must have been incredible to beat out Chaouchi. Our keeper had ratings of 7.3 (vBrazil), 9.5 (vRussia), 8.7 (v Argentina), and 6.9 (vBrazil). I guess he was hurt by not playing against South Korea and Brazil too fatigued to test him in the second match. He was man of the match twice.

I went and looked this up, Adler had a very average tournament by comparison, this was a grave injustice. His ratings were: 6.9 (New Zealand 4-1), 7.0 (USA 2-0), 7.2 (Argentina 0-2), 6.7 (Brazil 2-1e), 6.9 (Argentina 2-0). Oh well, Sepp Blatter probably made the decision himself.

Copa Santander Libertadores
In the semifinal, my Palmeiras squad was paired off against Cruzeiro, the side who were able to hold off my late season charge in the league last year. The first leg was at home, and we took full advantage, banging three set piece goals, all by Maurício and took a big 3-0 advantage on the road with us. Cruzeiro made things a little nervous for us in the 12th minute when Wendell closed the gap to 3-1, but Ciro and Maurício Ramos scored goals in the 30th and 86th to make it a dominating 5-1 aggregate scoreline.

In the final, we drew Argentine powerhouse River Plate. We played the first leg at home, and thanks to some time off in the league schedule I was able to field a fully fit first team squad. We played pretty well, and Ciro sandwich his brace around a River goal by Cristian Fabbiani and so heading to Argentina, we were up 2-1. A lot of tense moments in the return leg. We created many more chances than the Argentinians, but struggled to finish them. Leonardo (no, not the evil nemesis of Tab Ramos) scored a goal for the dark side in the 23rd minute. On this day, our finishers would shine in stoppage time. Ciro got a goal in the second minute of first half stoppage to regain our aggregate lead 3-2. But River would fight back, leveling the score in the 75th on a strike from Lucio Iribarrern. We looked destined for penalties at that point, until Maurício Ramos headed in a set piece in the third minute of stoppage time and became the hero, winning the tie and the cup, 4-3 on aggregate.

Meia Cleiton Xavier won the award for best player of the tournament. He only scored one goal but had a staggering 11 assists. The golden boot went to Cruzeiro's Kléber, who had 15 goals. We had two players named to the Dream Team, Cleiton Xavier (M) and Renan Ribeiro (GK).

Campeonato Brasileiro da Série A
We've only played 7 matches so far, but 4 wins and 3 draws, while not a great start, is enough to have is a logjam tie for second, 1 point adrift. We have a game in hand on every club in the league except Náutico, who lie in 14th place. Now that continental play is over, we can focus our attention here and hopefully improve our form.

By the way, the win in the Copa Libertadores officially put me to the top of the American managers hall of fame, hence the title of the post.

Campeonato Paulista Champions

State Championship of São Paulo
In Brazil, the national league is only about 40 years old. Before 1971, the clubs were all divided up into State (regional) Leagues. This was due to travel reasons, considering the size the country and the costs of nationwide commuting for clubs at the time. These leagues are still contested during the early portion of the year, and some of them are quite significant, including the Paulista League, or the Paulistão, where Palmeiras competes. The other major clubs in the competition are São Paulo, Santos, and Corinthians.

During the league portion we managed to escape without a blemish, winning 17 games and drawing 2 with a goal difference of 57-4 (+53).

In the semifinal against Santos, we drew 2-2 away on goals by Mauricio Ramos and Leandro Grimi. Back at home, Ciro scored the only goal and we advanced 3-2 on aggregate.

At Corinthians in the first leg of the final, Ciro gave us a 1-0 lead in the 24th. It looked like it would hold up until Wilson scored the equalizer and we would be going home level at 1. In the home leg, we took Corinthians apart in a 4-1 victory. Cleiton Xavier bagged a brace, and Luis Felipe and Ciro netted themselves goals in the romp.

Marquinhos won the award for Best Player, and also Young Player of the Year. Ciro was actually tied for most goals with 13, but it went to the other player apparently based on highest rating. The team won the fair play award, and we had seven players named to the Team of the Year. They are: Maricio Ramos (D), Mauricio (D), Rodrigo Dantas (M), Marquinhos (M), Cleiton Xavier (M), Ciro (F), Neymar (F).

Copa Santander Libertadores
We were drawn in Group G with Veracruz (MEX), Bolivar (BOL), and Trujillanos FC (VEN). We won the group despite drawing both matches against Veracruz. We outscored the opponents we faced 21-2.

In the second round we were paired with San Lorenzo (ARG). Fixture congestion was becoming an issue at this point, as we had to basically field two squads, one for the State Championship and one for the Copa Libertadores. The first leg in Argentina ended in a 0-0 draw, and back Obina's goal in the 26th was enough to push us through to the quarterfinal.

The quarterfinal would be against fellow Brazilian club Internacional. The first leg was at home, and it looked as though Inter would set themselves up beautifully with a goal just before the half. Obina would salvage a draw with a late equalizer in the 84th. We had plenty of chances in the final moments to grab the winner but we had to settle for a 1-1 score heading to Inter.

For the second leg, our first team was pretty much fully fit and ready to go, while Inter played a squad of players going mostly on short rest. The fitness advantage showed early, with three goals in the first half hour by Mauricio Ramos (13), Neymar (15), and Ciro (28). Just for good measure, Rodrigo Dantas added a strike in the 79th to put the exclamation point on a 5-1 victory. We advance to play our nemesis Cruzeiro in the semifinal.

Algeria
Only one match to report, a 4-0 win over Libya. Abdelkader Ghezzal scored a hat trick and Sofiane Feghouli added a goal as well. The 3 points has us tied atop the world cup qualifying group with Senegal, who thrashed Angola 4-1.

In my next post I should have played the Confederations Cup and at least one more qualifier.